After the divorce, he begged

Jeffrey shot a quick glance at Barry, who looked nervous and guilty, then shifted his eyes to Ryan, whose cold,

serious vibe filled the room. “Is there something you need, Mr. Guzman?”

“What do you think? Ryan said, his voice extra sharp.

“I'm listening, go ahead, Jeffrey replied politely.

Ryan caught sight of Rebecca stepping out from behind him, and the words he was about to say died in his

throat.

Ryan stepped right in, blocking Jeffrey’s way as he moved closer to Rebecca. “He didn’t do anything to you, did

he?”

Rebecca shook her head. “No.”

“You don’t have to worry about who he is-with your dad here, you can say whatever you want,” Ryan said,

making it clear he was backing her up. “If there's anything, Ill handle it for you.”

“We just talked about Samuel,” Rebecca replied, still not used to sharing personal stuff in front of others.

“Nothing else happened.”

Ryan wasn’t convinced at all.

If it was really just about Samuel, why call the way here? And why did they have to lock the door?‘ Ryan

thought, his suspicion deepening.

‘Something’s definitely not right here!‘ he told himself.

“I'm heading downstairs,” Rebecca said, not staying any longer.

“Alright, I'll join you guys after | finish up with Mr. Guzman,” Jeffrey said.

Rebecca gave a quick nod and walked out.

Ryan's frown deepened.

“What the hell did they talk about in there to make Rebecca's attitude toward Jeffrey shift so much? Earlier today

she couldn't even stand the guy, now she’s suddenly willing to spend twith him? That's seriously suspicious,

Ryan thought, unease creeping in.

This isn’t right, he muttered to himself.

“If you have something to say, Mr. Guzman, now's the time,” Jeffrey said, his tone casual and unbothered.

“Rebecca’s not here,”

“Don’t think | don’t know you set this up,” Ryan shot back, his eyes cold and sharp with warning. “You pretended

you were just looking for her, then had your people lock the door from the outside so you could get Rebecca

alone. I'm pretty familiar with that move myself.”

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Chapter 899

Barry opened his mouth, ready to explain.

But Jeffrey cut him off, a faint smirk curling his lips. “Oh? Sounds like you've done this before. Mr. Guzman?

Ryan kept his expression ice-cold. “Quit dodging and stick to the point.”

Jeffrey just lifted his eyebrow, looking smug.

That look in his eyes said, ‘How exactly am | dodging?”

I'll go to Rebecca in a minute and blow up your little trick,” Ryan said, his voice frosty. “Everything you just did

will end up wasted.”

“Only a fool would try something that clumsy,” Jeffrey said, completely unfazed.

Ryan clenched his jaw, grinding his molars.

“Who's he calling a fool?‘ Ryan thought, fuming.

“If you really want Rebecca to see you as smeddling old guy, go ahead,” Jeffrey drawled. “Just don’t expect

her to look at you any better-and trust me, Mom won't miss the chance to drag up all your old mess too.”

Ryan fixed his gaze on Jeffrey, his eyes cold and sharp.

Jeffrey didn’t even flinch. “Anything else?”

Ryan's eyes narrowed as he sized Jeffrey up. “This guy’s way smarter than | gave him credit for, he thought.

‘He’s so sure Rebecca won't believe me. Did he really not set this up on purpose?’ Ryan wondered, suspicion

gnawing at him.

Ryan didn’t buy that it was just a coincidence. But if Jeffrey could pull this off and still keep Rebecca from getting

mad, that meant he was playing a whole different game. ‘If Rebecca ends up with him, she’ll probably get played

so hard there won't even be scraps left, Ryan thought, his worry growing.

“If there's nothing else, let's head downstairs together,” Jeffrey suggested smoothly. “Mom and Rebecca are still

waiting for us.”

“Your mom?” Ryan sneered, instantly jumping on the chance to nitpick. “Quit trying to fake family here.”

Jeffrey shrugged, not bothered at all. “So next tyou act all fatherly in front of Rebecca, should | call you

out right then and there?”

Ryan was left speechless.

‘Damn kid, Ryan grumbled in his mind.

‘Alright, you gotthis time, he admitted inwardly, forced to concede.

“If you get past your grudge against me, deep down you actually wantand Rebecca together,” Jeffrey said,

his voice always calm and even. “You know better than anyone-if I'm by her side, no one’s going to dare mess

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Chapter 329

with her.”

Ryan smirked. “Don’t flatter yourself so much. Mr. Hanson”

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Jeffrey brushed off the sarcasm. “If I'm with her, | can help Rebecca take charge of all her Quinn and Guzman

shares People won't even dare to covet them.”

“Nice speech. Ryan retorted, just as stubborn. “Let’s be real-if that day comes, you'll be the first one scheming

after her shares.”

“But you and Mom are still around, aren't you?” Jeffrey replied, totally unfazed.

Ryan paused, caught off guard.

“Let's say, for the sake of argument, | really was after Rebecca's shares,” Jeffrey said, his tone cool and steady.

“But with you and Mom watching my every move, what could | possibly do? Do you honestly think you'd just

stand by and letsnatch them away?”

Ryan shot back, “You won't even get the chance.”

Jeffrey just shrugged. “So if Rebecca’s with me, I'm just her financial advisor, and you two are the supervisors.”

Gregory was totally lost.

He couldn’t wrap his head around why Jeffrey and Ryan had suddenly started getting along-just moments ago,

they were sniping at each other nonstop.

This is seriously weird!’ Gregory thought, still baffled.

“Right now, Rebecca needs my status to keep everyone else in line,” Jeffrey said genuinely. “Don’t you want to

use that to your advantage?”

‘Hell yeah | want that, Ryan thought.

There was no way he could keep both the Quinn and Guzman families in check all by himself.

Those folks might play nice in public, but behind closed doors they were always plotting and stirring up

trouble.

If Hanson gets involved, there'll be no more holding back. Everyone knows he’s ruthless-when it comes to

getting things done, nobody’s quicker or more decisive, Ryan admitted to himself.

He figured he could make good use of that.

“And really, | don’t need any wild hypotheticals to prove how much she means to me-I'd do anything for

Rebecca, no hesitation, Jeffrey said, sounding like he meant every word. “Just don’t publicly catin front

of others. Let everyone know she’s gotwatching her back. I'll take care of everything else.”

Ryan shot him a wary glance, more suspicion creeping in. “You're not... actually serious about this, are you...?”

Jeffrey just barely tilted his head, almost smirking. “What do you think?”

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Ryan’s brow furrowed, deep in thought.

still, the look on Jeffrey’s face-and how he'd just acted with Rebecca-really didn’t seem like he was faking it.

“Alright, you can do it. Ryan said, still clueless that Jeffrey had totally played him. “But I'm only letting you look

out for Rebecca because you hurt her before. This is your shot to make it up to her, that’s it. Don’t go thinking

this means | approve of you two being a couple.

Jeffrey kept his tone respectful. “I understand, sir.”

Ryan didn’t bother to overthink it. “Let’s head down. Don’t leave them hanging.”

With Ryan keeping an eye on things, there was no way this kid could pull any slick moves.

The second Jeffrey showed any signs of trying to make off with Rebecca, Ryan would shut it down, no questions

asked.

Jeffrey saw right through Ryan's plan, but he didn’t care. He'd already gotten what he wanted-nothing else

mattered now.

Once they were back on the banquet lawn, Ryan caught up with Rebecca and Amelia before Jeffrey arrived.

Gregory couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked, “So, after all that, are you planning to work with Mr. Guzman

in the future?”

If that’s the case, Gregory figured he'd need to start treating Ryan in a whole new way whenever they met.

“Did | ever say that?” Jeffrey retorted with a hint of teasing.

Gregory just blinked, question marks practically floating over his head.

Barry was totally lost too, his mind a complete mess of confusion.

“Wait-you weren’t...?” Gregory started, looking utterly bewildered.

“I just put the spotlight on what I could do for Rebecca, made sure Ryan had to weigh his options,” Jeffrey said,

keeping things vague as always. “Never said a word about doing him any favors.”

He kept it simple.

Gregory caught on.

Now, Ryan would give Jeffrey way less trouble, which meant one less roadblock on Jeffrey's quest to win

Rebecca's heart.

Gregory still didn’t get it at all-Jeffrey definitely had way more up his sleeve.

He wasn’t just out to clear a roadblock. He wanted to flip that former obstacle into his own secret wingman,

making Ryan help him chase after Rebecca without Ryan ever even noticing he'd been roped into the assist.

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Chapter 330

Chapter 330

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